Damn Lines! Pro is a cunning puzzle game that replicates the old-school childhood game of pick-up-sticks. Tap on lines to remove them, but make sure they are at the top or you lose a life. The games comes with three modes of differing gameplay, retro-style graphics and a pumping old-school sound track.

Pros & Cons:

Bottom chunk of the gameplay screen is just black (see pictures below).

Features:

Damn Lines! Pro is a cool and addictive puzzle game where you must remove lines from the top of the stack as fast and with as few mistakes as possible. If you ever played pick-up-sticks as a child, the gameplay should be pretty familiar. While the majority of the sticks are just different colours, there are few thrown in that make gameplay interesting. These include locked stick that require several taps to remove, bomb sticks which have to be tapped before they blow up and end the game in addition to snowflake lines which gives you extra time and a heart line which boosts life.

There are three modes in total: Arcade- normal gameplay where you accumulate as high a score as possible before the time runs out. Time Attack- where you must remove all the lines before the time runs out. If you hit a wrong line here, three more lines are added. Finally there is Minesweeper where there are no second chances and hitting a wrong line ends the game. The modes make gameplay mildly different, although I did find overall they felt repetitive after extended playing. For me then, this puts the game very much in the ‘casual’ category. Utterly compelling and lots of fun in short bursts, but play it for too long and it can feel monotonous.

Damn Lines! – Gameplay view (1)

Damn Lines! – Gameplay view (2)

Damn Lines! – Gameplay view (3)

Damn Lines! – Gameplay view (4)

Damn Lines! – Gameplay view (5)

Damn Lines! – Game over!

Damn Lines! – Menu

Damn Lines! – Minesweeper mode instructions

Damn Lines! – Arcade mode instructions

Fun Factor:

Without doubt Damn Lines! is lots of fun. You continually look to better your mode scores and it’s very rewarding when you do. With the different modes of play you have alternative challenges so if you tire of one mode you can try another. I personally really liked the Time Attack mode as it requires speed and accuracy in addition to having an end (other modes just keep going).

Addictive:

The game is incredibly easy to just pick-up-and-play so it can become compulsive. It can easily be played by both children and adults and rewards dexterity and quick reactions. The various modes and scoring means you have plenty of fronts to play on and beating your own scores can be challenging and addictive.

Graphics:

The graphics are pretty cool and beautifully stylised. They suit gameplay well and look good. While they are perhaps nothing to write home about, I think they are very reasonable for a puzzle game.

Accelerometer, Vibration & Sound:

The sound is a very retro 70’s groove which again suits the game well. I think some people might find it a tad cheesy in places but I quite liked it and felt it complimented the theme well.

AndroidTapp.com Rating

(4.0 out of 5)

Should you Download Damn Lines!? Definitely check the game out if you like simple puzzle titles. It’s simple to play, hard to master and comes with various modes to get stuck into. It can feel a little repetitious if you play it for long periods but for short bursts it’s thoroughly engaging and enjoyable. The Pro version is just $0.99 but definitely check out the free version first.